Six Traits of Writing Mini Lessons: Persuasive/Argument/Opinion

This bundle includes 18 mini lessons (brief teacher-led mini lessons about 10-15 minutes long) that teach the six traits of writing (ideas, organization, voice, sentence fluency, word choice, and conventions) and is intended for grades K-5 within persuasive/narrative/opinion writing. These lesson plans were developed as a resource to support teachers in teaching the six traits using the mentor texts and lesson ideas that were expanded upon from the book The Writing Thief, by Ruth Culham, which is a trait-based strategy to assess and teach writing. All ideas and verbiage from The Writing Thief are clearly cited directly back to the book.

Each trait comes with three mini-lessons for grades K-1, 2-3, and 4-5. The lessons are designed for differentiation so you could use the lessons below, at, or above the grade level you teach. You could teach the ‘at grade level’ lesson to your whole group, enrich or accelerate using the ‘above grade level’ lessons in small groups and use the ‘below grade level’ lessons for your struggling readers and writers in small groups as well.

This product includes:

A list of mentor texts (read alouds) needed for each lesson. These can be borrowed from your school library or audiobooks found on youtube is also a great option. Some mini-lessons require certain passages which are included. See the preview for a list of mentor texts.

18 mini lessons:

Grades K-1: Ideas: Focusing The Topic

Grades 2-3: Ideas: Using Details

Grades 4-5: Ideas: Developing The Topic

Grades K-1: Organization: Using Sequence & Transition Words

Grades 2-3: Organization: Creating the Lead

Grades 4-5: Organization: Ending With a Sense of Resolution

Grades K-1: Voice: Conveying The Purpose

Grades 2-3: Voice: Establishing a Tone

Grades 4-5: Voice: Creating a Connection to the Audience

Grades K-1: Sentence Fluency: Breaking the “Rules” to Create Fluency

Grades 2-3: Sentence Fluency: Varying Sentence Patterns

Grades 4-5: Sentence Fluency: Capturing Smooth & Rhythmic Flow

Grades K-1: Word Choice: Using Creative Words and Phrases

Grades 2-3: Word Choice: Using Language Effectively

Grades 4-5: Word Choice: Using Strong Verbs

Grades K-1: Conventions: Inserting Capitalization

Grades 2-3: Conventions: Using Parts of Speech

Grades 4-5: Conventions: Checking Spelling

This is a digital download (PDF).

Purchasing this product grants permission for use by one teacher in his or her own classroom. If you intend to share with others, please purchase an additional license for the desired product.